Clothes hanger



May 2, 1950 L.. J. BEDFORD ET AL. '2,506,193

CLOTHES HANGER an I ..//f /o @L Patented May 2, 1950 UNITED STATES vPATENT GFFICE CLOTHES HANGER Leroy J. Bedford and Edythe A. Adams, Bakersfield, Calif.

Application August 23, 1946, Serial No. 692,581

3 Claims. (Cl.'211-'96) This invention relates to a clothes hanger, and more particularly to a hanger adapted to be positioned in a closet or the like.

A primary object of this invention is the provision' of a hanger including a bar adapted to support a plurality of individual hangers which may be readily swung outwardly for the positioning of clothing thereon, and which may then be swung inwardly against the wall, such as the back of a closet or the like, thus effecting a material saving of space in the positioning of clothing.

An additional vobject lof the invention is the provision of means in connection with a device of this character, whereby the hangers, when the device is in extended position, are relatively widely spaced and substantially perpendicular to the bar to facilitate thepositioning of clothing thereon, but when the device is swung against the wall, the hangers are turned in such manneras to lie substantially parallel to the bars, thus 'positioning the clothing relatively flat against the wall,'and'further eiecting a saving of space.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of such a Vdevice Awhich will rotate the hangers to the above-mentioned positions as the hanger bar'is swung outwardly in a substantially automatic manner, thus eliminating the necessity of manual turning of such hangers when garments are positioned thereon or removed therefrom. y

. Still other objects reside in the combinations of'elements, arrangements of parts, and features of construction, all as will be more fully pointed out hereinafter, and shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of` this inventive concept.

In the drawings:

' Figure 1 is a top plan view of one form of device embodying features of the instant invention shown in extended position, various alternative positions of adjustment being indicated by dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the construction shown in Figure 1, an alternative position of adjustment being indicated by dotted lines.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Figure l, as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective View of one type of hanger adapted to be associated with the device, and

Figure 5 is a reduced side elevational view of the device shown in extended position.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Having reference now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figure l, the device of the instant invention includes a supporting bracket or base plate I0 having a vertically upstanding pin I I associated therewith, upon which is pivotally mounted a main hanger bar I 2, the arrangement being such that the bar may pivot freely to a point in parallelism with the wall I3, as indicated in Figure 1, or to a point at substantially right angles thereto, as indicated' in full line.

The bracket I0 has extending outwardly therefrom a lug I4 offset from the pivot II, upon theextremity of which is mounted a second pivot pin I5, the pivot I5 being spaced away from and outwardly, with respect to the wall, of the pivot II. A drawbar I6 is pivotally mounted on the pivot I5 and positioned in substantial parallelism to the hanger bar I2.

Links, generally indicated at Il, are adapted to connect the bars lI2 and I6, and a plurality of these links are positioned at spaced intervals. Each link includes an elongated slot i8 adapted to be engaged by a headed pin I9 carried by the drawbar I6, the arrangement being such that the pin is freely slidable within the slot. The opposite end of each link I'I carriesa square hole 20, as best shown in Figure 3, in alignment with a round bore or aperture 2I in hanger bar I2.

The square upper extremity 22 of a hanger rod having a round shank 23 and a supporting collar 24 extends upwardly through each of the square holes 20. The depending portion of the shank mayk support a hanger of any desired con- 'v iiguration, although, in the preferred embodi-r ment of the instant invention, a hanger comprised of an arcuate member 21 for the supporting of a garment such as a coat or the like provided adjacent its extremities and on the under side thereof with hooks 28 for supporting the straps of garments such as slips or the like, has been found to be preferable. If desired, the shank may extend through the central portion of the arcuate member 21 and terminate in a loop 29 adapted for the support of any desired member, as, for example, a trousers hanger 30. of the type generally shown in Figure 4. Such a hanger may, if desired, comprise a shank 3l provided with a hook 32 adapted to engage in the loops 29, and a pair of spaced parallel clamping members 33 secured in position by vertical members 34 spring biased apart as by springs 35 in a known manner.

If desired, the entire assembly may be supported and reinforced, as best shown in Figure 5, by a chain 36 suitably secured to an eye 31 at the end of the main hanger bar I2, and having its oppositefend secured to an eye 38 suitably se cured in the wall I3 in any desired manner.

From the foregoing, the operation of the device should now be readily understandable. When it is desired to position clothes on the hangers or remove the same therefrom, the device may be swung outwardly to the position shown in full line in Figure 1, the hangers in this position being substantially at right angles to the main hanger bar I2 and the drawbar I6. However, when it is desired to move the device out of the Way, it will be readily understood that by swinging the device to the left, as viewed in Figure l, the relative positioning of the pivot points will cause the member IB to move toward the member I2, which, through the pins I9 and slots I8, will occasion a rotative movement of the links I1. Due to the square holes 20 and their engagement with the square Shanks 22 of the hangers, such rotative movement of the links will serve effectively to move the hangers first to the dotted line position indicated in Figure l, wherein the hangers lie i in substantial parallelism to the wall but at a comparatively sharp angle to the hanger bar I2,v and finally when the two members I2 and I6 are adjacent the wall, to a position in substantial-parallelism with the wall, thus materially eiecting a saving in space and permitting the use of a relatively large proportion of the closet, or other place, where the rack may be positioned.

Obviously, when the device is returned to. the full line position shown in Figure l, the reverse action will take place again automatically turn-v ing the hangers to the right angled position dis-- closed.

From the foregoing it will now be seen that there is herein provided a device which accomplishes all the objects of this invention, and others, including` many advantages of great practical utility and commercial importance.

As many embodiments may be made of this inventive concept, and as many modifications may be made in the embodiment hereinbefore shown and described, it is to be: understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

l. In a device of the character described, in combination, a base plate, a pair of vertical pivots on said plate, one of said pivots extending outwardly a substantial distance beyond the other, a hanger bar secured to one of Said pivots, a draw bar secured to the other of said pivots, links ex-fy 4 tending between said bars in spaced relation therealong and slidably connected at one end to the draw bar, a plurality of hangers arranged in spaced relation below said hanger bar, and a stem projecting from each of said hangers and secured thereto, each of said stems extending loosely through an aperture in said hanger bar and dependingly supported in the other end of the link adjacent thereto.

2. In a device of the character described, in combination, a base plate, a pair of vertical pivots on said plate, one of said pivots extending outwardly a substantial distance beyond the other, a hanger bar provided with a plurality of apertures spaced therealong and secured to one of said pivots, a draw bar secured to the other of said pivots, links extending between said bars and connected by pin and slot means to the draw bar, and hangers mounted on said hanger bar, each of said links having a square aperture therein, square stems on said hangers extending into said square apertures, said stems being passed through said apertures in said hanger bar and freely rotatable therein.

3. In a. device of the character described, in combination, a base plate, a pair of vertical pivots on. said plate, one ofy said pivots extending outwardly a substantial distance beyond the other, a hanger bar provided with a plurality ofapertures spaced therealong and secured to one of said pivots, a draw bar secured to the other of said pivots, links each having a slot extending between said bars, and hangers mounted on said hanger bar, each of said links having asquare aperture therein, square stems on said hangers extending into said square apertures and iixed to the links, said stems being passed through said apertures in said hanger bar and freely rotatable therein, and a plurality of pins on said draw bar arranged in spaced relation therealong, said pins extending into said slots.

LEROY J. BEDFORD.

EDYTHE- A.. ADAMS.

REFERENCES CITED They following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

